I hope you like ramen, because it's going to be a tight month. I'm not talking about good ramen, the kind with meat in it, either. I'm talking “25¢, I can't believe I'm actually ingesting large quantities of this” ramen. But it's just something us 3DS owners have to put up with, because October is going to be packed. There are a lot of games coming out, and, I'm sorry, but you have to have all of them.
The obvious one is Pokemon X and Y. This is the game that you just have to get. Think of it as peer pressure, if you want. This is the first, really and truly, 3D Pokemon game. (Those other installments don't count.) It has Nintendog-esque features, where you can bond with your Pokemon. You can immediately see who's online and nearby to interact with. You can ride Pokemon. You can even play dress-up! I'm sorry, but there's no way around it. You need to spend $39.99 on Pokemon X or Y. No debate. Let's go ahead and just round up to $40. Now, if you're buying Pokemon X and Y, which we've already established you will be, then you probably enjoy RPGs. Or you like RPGs, but you just haven't realized it yet. In which case, you're going to have to kick it up a notch. Pokemon is all well and good, but it doesn't afford much challenge. You need Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl to make a man or woman out of you. You see yourself right now? You're kids. Etrian Odyssey Untold will put hair on your chest, even if you don't want it. It's a challenging game that is ready to chew you up, spit you out, and get under your skin. It builds character, and you know you need to build more character by mapping out dungeons and developing either the predetermined, Story mode characters or the custom, original characters. So go ahead, add another $40 to your bill.

Pokemon X or Y and Etrian Odyssey Untold are going to give you quite a workout. I bet you can already feel your shoulders tensing up at the thought of those 30-40 hour adventures. This means you'll also need a kickback game. Something you can play that just makes you feel good. Something like Hometown Story, which lets you run a shop, make friends, and grant wishes. Frankly, it looks adorable. Perhaps even a little bit like a more story-centric Animal Crossing, only without all the freaky anthropomorphic animals. Though there are some talking dragons--so who knows. This one, you're going to want to pre-order, because that's the only way you can get a stuffed dragon. You know you need an adorable, stuffed dragon for your desk. That's another $40. You know, while we're talking about bright, colorful, happy games, let's talk Sonic. You can't get brighter and happier than him. He's got a new gaming coming out next month, called Sonic Lost World. I know, sometimes Sonic games are a gamble. Which is why you should put a tentative $40 aside, just in case, and see what the reviews are like. That way, if it ends up being good, you've got the money ready to spend on a new platformer. If not, well, you can put that towards another game. Another game means Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate. That's coming out in October, too. Like Sonic Lost World, it could prove to be a gamble. Which is why this $40 can be your Batman/Sonic money. You wait until these two come out, see what the buzz is like, and then grab either one or the other.

Of course, if both of those turn out to be flops, then you can always spend that provisional $40 on Rune Factory 4. That comes out this month. You know you need to spend some time farming, making friends, building up a town, and crawling through dungeons--maybe even build a little virtual family on the side. You know what? That sounds like too much fun as well. Set aside $40 for Rune Factory 4.Finally, you've got to wrap up October with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies. There's no way around it. Phoenix is back, and you've got to support his courtroom antics. If you don't, who will? Nobody. Okay, that's a lie. I'm sure other people will support him, but still. Think of it this way: Capcom needs to know that we want more than constant iterations of Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, and reboots of old games. Spending $30 on a new Phoenix Wright is a good way to show the company that we're prepared to support any risks its willing to take.

So, let's go ahead and total that up. It looks like you're going to have to spend at least $230 to build up your 3DS library this month. Yeah, you're going to have to skimp a little, but I'm sure you'll be okay. You were probably just going to go and spend that $230 on silly stuff like food, rent, or gasoline anyway.